George Ferguson Column: I won't miss winter, but I'll miss the hoops around here

For the Montana State University-Northern Lights and Skylights, for the Havre Blue Ponies, for Rocky Boy and Harlem, and all of the District 9C, the basketballs have now been put away.

It’s hard to believe another season of local hoops has come and gone, and I, for one, am going to miss it. Now, I can’t lie, the end of basketball season also signals at least the near end of winter around these parts. And in no way, shape or form am I going to miss winter. Nope, not one bit.

But, given the fact that the next Northern basketball games are now seven months away and high school hoops is even farther off, yes, I’m going to eventually have basketball withdrawals.

And one reason why is the hoops around here has been, and is, just so good and so entertaining. And this last season was no exception.

At Northern, the season was, well, exciting to say the least. The Skylights had yet another remarkable year, one that took them and their fans all the way to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA national tournament. And of course, that season included getting to watch the incomparable Natalee Faupel for the last winter of what has been nothing short of a special, special ride at MSU-N.

The Lights, they entertained us too. The Northern men fought and battled their way to a top-four finish in the Frontier Conference and played some thrilling and intense games along the way.

Yes, winter nights in the Armory Gymnasium were pretty amazing this year.

Inside all of our local high school gyms, the same held true. From Havre to Hays, from Box Elder to Fort Benton, and all points in between, it was a great year of high school hoops.

In the 9C, we got to witness five battles between Hays-Lodge Pole and Box Elder this year, and that itself was remarkable. We got to see head coach Jeremy MacDonald lead his Bears to a fight straight 9C championship, while the HLP Thunderbirds honored the late A.J. Long Soldier by making a run to a fourth-place finish at the Class C state tournament.

On the girls side, fans were treated to one of the deepest and most talented 9C years ever. Box Elder was phenomenal, while Fort Benton went on a great run to finish third at the Northern C.

Not to be outdone, Rocky Boy had outstanding boys and girls teams this season, with the Stars winning the 1B title and the Morning Stars coming within a few points of making it to the Class B state tournament. In Harlem, a pair of freshman girls were scoring machines this season.

Of course, in Havre, we also got to see head girls coach Dustin Kraske continue to do what he does — lead his teams to win after win in the Central A, and go back to the state tournament. That’s something Blue Pony fans are really growing accustomed to.

No, by no means was this winter anything but another great one when it comes to the basketball around here. The Hi-Line produced NAIA All-Americans, and All-State high school players at every level.

In fact, the hoops was so much fun this season, it almost made me forget what a miserable winter it was — almost.

Now though, it’s all over. The balls are in the ball racks and the trophies are engraved and in the trophy cases up and down the Hi-Line.

Now, all that’s left for people to do is dream about the next basketball season — except for me it isn’t. There’s one more thing left. And it’s one I absolutely need to happen.

While nothing will diminish how much fun I had covering and watching local basketball this season, there’s also no better cherry on top than if the North Carolina Tar Heels would win the NCAA championship in the coming days. Yes, as a diehard Tar Heel fan who got his start stolen by Villanova a year ago, I am hoping beyond hope that the redemption will come in the coming days. It would be the icing on my 42nd birthday cake, which is just a few days off, too.

But again, regardless of what happens with my Tar Heels, it’s been a basketball season filled with fun and excitement. So congrats to all of you who were a part of it, all of the players, coaches, referees and fans. It was a blast and while I’m looking forward to summer for sure, I’ll certainly be looking forward to seeing all of you back in the gyms next winter, too.